Pokemon Gijinka: Living by the Blade
by KomoriRin
Summary: SYOC Pokemon Gijinka AU world based off of ancient Japan! A Glaceon ronin who can't show emotions, a Flygon samurai who knows little about the world, and more (as I start adding in OCs!) Please read and review! Rated T for violence. Also, new title! As for OCs, I already have a bunch, but am still accepting ideas for minor characters. See chapter two for details.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! Welcome to my story! Please enjoy, review, and maybe submit an OC!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, sadly.**

* * *

Step.

Step. Step. Put one foot in front of the other- just like it had always been.

Step. Step. His sandaled feet looked well-worn, if you could see them under his voluminous hakama. The hakama were pale blue with darker tips, and a miniscule snowflake pattern you would have to squint to see. His entire garb symbolized him as a samurai to passerby, but a closer inspection would reveal dirt staining the expensive cloth, rips on the blue diamonds on the sleeves, grass stains down below the knee. And a few darker stains.

A ronin.

He didn't look out of place on the open road. In fact, he looked quite content. His normally emotionless face had opened into a small smile, the frozen features softened by the sheer beauty that surrounded him.

The sky was a brilliant cerulean blue, with a few tiny clouds, wispy like strokes of a brush on a pure sapphire canvas. And the sky seemed especially vast today. The road the ronin tread upon was surrounded by rice paddies, flat and wet, making the sky look even bigger- not marred by a single tree or house.

Peasants worked in the fields. Others walked down the road. Even though it was a dirt one, and in the country, it was still densely populated by travelers as it connected two important villages. Peasants in their dirty tunics walked by, many carrying all sorts of things. Children scrambled under leg and basket. A few other ronin walked the path- but none of them had in their clothes the splendor that the blue ronin had. He had come from a high-up position in the army of an affluent lord, most likely.

It was amazing to marvel at the sheer amount of people on the road. As he walked, the ronin saw a troupe of women in elaborate kimonos, a monk, a group of traveling performers who sang and did acrobatic tricks to the delight of the villagers, a minor magistrate or something who rode in a carriage, surrounded by samurai who scowled at the blue ronin in disgust- he had no master to serve.

He ignored them, choosing instead to look at the sky. Blue. The color changed hue as the day went on. It made for a brilliant sunset. Well, it would have if no anyone was around to see it. Awakening from his daydream, the ronin wearing winter looked around with eyes of brilliant blue-grey, confused for a bit. Then it hit him.

Sunset. Now it's nighttime. Duh. Most people would be at home now. The landscape had changed as well. Now he was in a forest, newly grown, as the trees were unable to obscure the sinking sun veiled in rainbows.

The road led on, but the light grew dim. "It's time to stop," thought the ronin. He soon reached an old shrine- small and wooden, but with a few rooms for travelers to spend the night- it would do.

He entered, and the first thing he saw was a sculpture of the high god, Arceus. The god smiled at him through wooden lips, sending both a message of quiet love and regal superiority. His clothes, of course, were very elaborate- a long kimono, mainly white, but with seventeen other colors all interwoven into it.

The traveler shook his head, driving away the daydreams. It wasn't a rainbow, like the stories said. It was wood. Any paint on the statue had faded long ago. But it reminded the ronin of his childhood, and the stories he had heard from his mother and father.

After thanking the god for his hospitality, the man chose a room and went in. Time had not been kind to the old forest temple, but the villagers that lived nearby kept it in relatively good condition. As the masterless samurai set about arranging his single sleeping blanket and the food he had gotten out of the small pack on his back, he reminisced about his life before the war. Back when he was with his family, in the house on the hill.

* * *

There he stood. Tall for his age, but only up to his mother's stomach. He wore a child's version of the clothing he had on today; shades of blue, decorated with snowflakes and diamond patterns, probably woven by a skilled Bug-type seamstress like an Ariados.

Back then, his eyes shown a bit bluer, it seemed. Before they'd been hardened by all the fighting over the years. Back then, they were like the surface of a pond before any ripples have been made; now, the pond had frozen. As always, he was pale, and had hair that was blue and spiked up.

It was a younger version of him now- the only differences were that now he had a sword. And a single earring.

The younger version stood in the yard outside his house, next to the small pond where the koi swam. His mother was sitting on the porch of the house as the sliding doors stood open behind her, knitting. She looked up.

The boy said, "Tell me a story." He looked slightly angry, as if something had ticked him off earlier and now he needed a story to calm him down.

His mother's eyes softened. They were blue, like his. In fact, everything about her looked just like him- from her brilliant kimono, to her perfect pearl-white skin, to the color of her hair, which she wore long- all the way down her back. "Which one?"

"The one about us. About how we came here." He climbed up and sat next to her, staring as he waited for her to begin.

She smiled. "Well…"

* * *

Long ago, before our world was here of course, was Arceus's world. We don't know if it was his first- all we know is that it was the one he made before ours.

He looked down on it, and was happy. Sure, it had its flaws, but that's what happens with humans and Pokemon.

The two species coexisted perfectly. They were friends, and helped each other out all the time. It was a good world, in need of no help.

Arceus decided it was time to create a new world. And so he did.

Arceus's main theme for our world was one of beauty. Green forests and plains, beautiful ponds, lakes, and streams. He made our beaches, and our cherry blossom trees, and of course, you're favorite, the snow.

He put humans into it. And Pokemon, too. But these humans were different from the ones before. They were primitive. I've heard that in the other world, humans moved around in carriages that moved by themselves- without even horses! Not here.

Those humans were wise. And with wisdom came understanding, of Pokemon. The humans of our world did not have that understanding. Here, the wild Pokemon were treated as animals, gods, demons, and all sorts of things. They did not understand the powers we possess.

Arceus was saddened by this. He hid the Pokemon away, and they passed into the myths and legends of the humans- no longer existing, besides in their imaginations. He left this world alone, for five hundred years, they say.

After waiting his chosen number of years, Arceus returned to the world. He appeared in the form of a human, so they would understand him, but also was symbolic of a Pokemon. He saw what the world had become, and he was happy.

Even if they could not understand Pokemon, they could understand his vision. They had developed into a civilization that revolved around beauty- intertwining their buildings and man-made environments with Arceus's nature in they way they still do today.

Overjoyed, Arceus invited his pantheon of minor gods to come visit- in the form of humans. They agreed with him- this was a nice world, a fine world even. And they wanted to bring Pokemon back into it.

Arceus was not so sure. Instead, he began to bring Pokemon here a different way- in the form of humans. Yes, like you and me. He chose eight lords to represent his power over humanity. And he brought the rest of us. Even more appeared over the years.

But we're not allowed to tell normal people that we're Pokemon. It's a secret between Pokemon. Pokemon that demonstrate their powers are simply thought to be powerful heroes touched by the gods, spirits, or mythic beasts. Yes, I know the kids at school make fun of you because you look different. But you're a Pokemon, that's why. Yes, born here, not brought by Arceus.

I know you can't use your powers yet, but I'm sure one day you will find your Emblem. You want me to tell you about Emblems again? Very well.

Each Pokemon in this world has an Emblem- an item that allows us to channel our unique powers through our human bodies. I know you haven't found yours yet, but one day you will. Like I found my earrings. What, you want to hear that story too? Come on now, look at the sky. See? It's almost time for your bedtime, dear Glaceon. Sleep tight.

* * *

Glaceon, now eighteen, did just that, in his little room in the roadside temple. As he drifted off to surprisingly good dreams (for once), he smiled. _Thanks, mom. Thanks, Arceus._

* * *

Five hours later, an eye snapped open. Reflex. He rubbed his head as he yawned and sat up. "Hunh…?"

Glaceon listened, wondering what made him wake up, and heard the clip-clop, clip-clop of a horses hooves, running at full speed. _What was a horse doing that for, at midnight…?_

Glaceon slowly trudged forward, blinking. He looked at the statue of Arceus, wondering if he knew anything about the mysterious horse.

_I really shouldn't bother, it's none of my business. _He shook his head, trying to wake up bit more_. Well, it sort of is… after all, they __**did**__ wake me up… and that's rude._

Just as he slid open the front door, the horse shot by at full speed. There was someone riding on it- a girl, with two viridian braids flying behind her.

In one split second, she noticed the door with Glaceon in it, climbed onto the side of her horse, and launched herself into it, like a swimmer's dive, straight forward, knocking him down.

As he fell back with an "Oof!," he couldn't help but marvel at her skill- that leap was near impossible. No, it _was_ impossible. He had seen a glimmer of transparent diamond-shaped wings as she launched herself, though. _Pokemon_.

The girl, who was also sprawled on the floor with him, looked up, red-faced, instinctively squeaking, "Sorry!" She had green hair in two braids, and reddish-brown eyes. Her outfit consisted of samurai armor in different shades of green with an occasional red embellishment. A naginata (spear-like weapon) was strapped to her back.

For a second they sized each other up, an employed samurai and an unemployed samurai. She was even younger than him- sixteen maybe. Probably a newbie samurai.

Noticing his road-worn look, in one swift motion she had her naginata pointed at his throat, her eyes steeling. "If you're a bandit, don't try anything," she said coolly. "I am a high-ranking samurai in the employ of one of our eight lords, and I can-"

Her statement was cut short by the clip-clop of horses' hooves outside, again. Except instead of one it must have been five.

As Glaceon was about to say reply, she leapt up and jumped into the back room. Again with the hint of wings- a faint outline seemed to sparkle and shimmer behind her as she jumped.

"If you value your honor-" she began, peeking out from behind the sliding door. Hoarse voices, yelling, were heard over the approaching horses. She slammed the door quickly with a start, and from behind it, Glaceon heard, "I'm not here! I can pay you!"

The ronin in blue stood up, rubbing his forehead with two fingers. _Well, that went well. I'm out of practice for ambushes- all I could do was sit there, half-asleep. _At least he would be prepared if the other horsemen tried to come in. Which they might- the noise had stopped, right outside the temple.

One voice said uncertainly, "I could've sworn I saw a shadow leap off the horse here."

An argument arose between the horseman, with phrases such as "that's impossible!", "at this speed…?", and "you must be seeing things."

Finally a stronger voice rose above the clamor, quieting the tumult. "Whatever you say, that horse is still sprinting ahead of us and getting farther as we argue. Kenichi, are you positive you saw someone jump off?"

A younger, meeker voice, said, "Y-yes, sir."

"Alright!" the man in charge roared. "Take Ryuusuke and investigate the area. The rest of us will ride down that horse." Without further words, the three riders were gone in a flurry of hoofbeats.

A few minutes later, the two men left behind opened the door slowly. Glaceon had taken out some of the food from his pack and was preparing a midnight snack- how could he sleep with all that racket around here?

"Umm, excuse us," said one; a younger thin man. The voice of the one who had noticed the samurai girl from earlier's jump. His partner was a man of much larger stature than him, and a bit older. He had a gruff face and didn't look all that intelligent. Both wore matching samurai armor- cheaply made, in a dull gray.

The bigger man pushed the smaller one aside (who let out a small "Eep!" but made no further retaliation) and stood in the center of the small temple front room, hands on hips.

He looked around angrily. "I can't believe you made us stop for something stupid you thought you saw, idiot," said the big soldier. Kenichi cringed.

Ryuusuke's gaze moved around the room lazily until it landed on Glaceon, who simply stared back without showing any emotion. The big warrior's lip curled. "Well, well, it looks like we've found ourselves a filthy little ronin."

He paced back and forth in front of Glaceon, whose eyes followed him. "Don't…" said Kenichi weakly from behind. His fellow samurai whirled around. "Shut it, shrimp! You're the one who got us stuck here anyway, on this stupid detour. Might as well have some fun."

Kenichi whimpered but didn't say anything more, as Ryuunosuke crouched down in front of Glaceon, a dangerous smile decorating his features. "Hey, little ronin, who doesn't have a lord to serve. Have you been paying your taxes to us? Our lord rules here, you know, and demands taxes from all the little peasants like you." Without waiting for a response, he made a disapproving noise. "Ah, you bad little ronin. Well than why don't you pay them to me, a far superior samurai who can actually keep a job!" He looked down, noticing Glaceon's meager snack. "And your food, too. I'm hungry."

Glaceon shifted where he sat on the floor, growing agitated. The comment about "keeping a job" had gotten to him, although you would never notice it unless you looked very closely. Even as his fists grew slightly more clenched, he kept the same expressionless face.

Finally Glaceon stood up, eye level with the older samurai. He looked at him for five seconds, then asked, "Where you the ones chasing that girl?"

Kenichi tried to interject, "Yes, under our lord's orders-" but his partner interrupted loudly. "Oh, so she IS here! You're not such an idiot after all, Kenichi!" he glared at Glaceon. "So where is she, you scumbag samurai?"

Glaceon tilted his head towards the door the girl samurai hid behind, but as Ryuunosuke went towards it, the ice Pokemon held out a hand to stop him.

"So you **were** chasing her," he said slowly. "Which means you guys are what made her make all that noise and wake me up. Than you kept me awake with noise of your own!" he cocked his head slightly. "So it's all your fault that I was woken up from the first good dream I've had in ages…"

His unnaturally colored eyes seemed to bore into Ryuunosuke's skull, as he finished with, "…isn't it?"

"Huh!" the thug samurai said. "Is that a threat? I'll cleave you in half for speaking to me like that, you sack of dung!" he whipped out a heavy looking mace, an unusual weapon, and attempted to swing it down upon Glaceon's head.

Glaceon continued unnerving his adversary by keeping his eyes locked into the other man's. Ryuunosuke noticed them flicker as Glaceon casually unlocked his katana with one finger. Instantly the temperature in the room dropped ten degrees. His attacker's eyes widened, and his expression turned from one of smug pleasure into slightly fearful, momentarily stopping his swing.

Finally, Glaceon's expressionless face moved- a slight smile, as he slowly drew out his katana. It was a beautiful piece of metal, overly long for a sword, and covered in frost.

He swung it lazily, not even making contact with his opposition. This made Ryuunosuke's spirits go up for a split second, thinking the mysterious ronin had missed, when he was blasted in the face with an Icy Wind attack. It pushed him and Kenichi back towards the door.

Glaceon touched his sword, and slowly drew his finger down the entire length of it, causing it to expand into a much larger blade made purely of spiky ice. "This is my Ice Fang attack," he told the watching samurai. "It really, really hurts. I suggest you make a run for it. Yeah, run long and far."

The two samurai sprinted out the door, stumbling over themselves and soon thudding feet into the dirt road, disappearing into the early morning blackness, even forgetting their horses. The samurai with the sword of ice walked out the door of the temple after them, calling as he stopped.

"And Kenichi! Stick up for yourself more! It's the guy you're with who's the idiot!" Sighing, Glaceon put his sword away. The ice simply disappeared and it went back to being a simple steel blade in a sheath.

He strode back inside, walked past the statue of Arceus and the Pokemon girl peeking out from the other room, into the room where his blanket lay. Without ceremony, he flopped onto it and was asleep within minutes. _That got my adrenaline going- I haven't had that much excitement in ages._

* * *

**Haha, sorry it's so long! Anyway, I should probably go over a few things.**

**1.) this world is not Japan- it's just based off of feudal Japan. So it's allowed to have anachronisms and not be perfectly historically accurate. It's not history, it's fiction- and it's more fun that way.**

**2.) this world has animals in it, like the horses from this chapter, not Pokemon. I don't know how a medieval-era world would work without any form of animal life, so this one gets both regular animals and Pokemon, as gijinkas.**

**3.) I'm accepting OCs! The OC form is below. The only limitations are: no legendaries, except the eight lords. And even then, they can only be minor legendaries that don't have godly powers (I'll need all 8!). The lords can also be very powerful normal Pokemon.**

**also, one OC per person unless they are related (ex: a lord and his personal bodyguard)**

**Until next time! I can't promise fast updates, except for maybe the first arc. After that I'll have to take all the OCs into consideration and do a lot of pre-writing.**

* * *

**OC Form**

**Name: (the name they take, when talking to humans)**

**Species: (what Pokemon they are, or human if you want i guess)**

**Gender and (Apparent) Age:**

**Personality:**

**History:**

**Appearance: (what they look like physically. they're gijinkas so anything goes! just remember: their ears, tails, wings, etc. aren't visible normally, only spectrally when they're using their powers)**

**Outfit(s): (submit multiple ones if you want, just don't make it too modern)**

**Emblem: (the item they channel they're powers through, and how they do it (like Glaceon's katana). if they're young and don't have one yet, tell what it would be)**

**Class: (that's probably not the right word to describe this; but basically what they do and how they do it- samurai, ninja, ronin, shrine maiden, lord, princess, etc)**

**Fighting Style/Skill Level: (if they fight, that is. notable weapons and accesories. also how talented they are, or if you want what level they'd be as a Pokemon)**

**Favored Moves: (basically the four moves they'd use as a Pokemon)**

**Attitude towards this world: (how do they feel about living here? do they take advantage of their power or keep it secret? do they like arceus for leaving them here, hate him, or not believe he exists at all? do they want to visit the other Pokemon world? etc)**

**Romance Interests (Optional): (what type of people do they like? i may try to play with shipping haha, though only with the OC creator's permission and suggestions)**

* * *

**so that's it! See you next time! Try to PM me the OC form, so the reviews aren't clogged up. Although I encourage you to review too haha!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again and welcome to chapter two!**

* * *

Glaceon awoke from a (pretty much) restful night's and found the air to be exuding a delicious aroma, seeping around the doors and walls of the small wooden temple like a stealthy Ghost-type Pokemon.

After taking a good while to stand up, stretch, and rub his eyes (when your life is nothing but wandering, one of the few benefits is that you can sleep in until whenever you feel like), Glaceon slowly walked out of his little room.

Just like always, the carving of Arceus was on guard. Glaceon thanked the god for his hospitality once again, and the lack of nightmares that night. Maybe Arceus's protection really was on the tiny temple. The door to the second guest space was open, revealing a naginata, as well as a few traveling supplies and pieces of armor littering the ground- the girl from the night before was still around, and, judging from the smell wafting around, was outside cooking.

Lazily, he stepped outside and stopped in the doorway.

Closing his eyes, he felt the fresh spring wind on his face.

Opening his eyes, he surveyed a vast wall of green- trees, of all shapes and sizes. They lined the little dirt path like sentinels, as if waiting for it to fall into disuse so they could reclaim it for their empire of green.

Once again, the sky was blue and vast; although today, puffy clouds dotted it- the writer had spilled his ink. A family of birds darted through it, onto the waiting branches of a nearby tree; the branches themselves stretched out like a spider web of wood, grasping fingers trying to reach the sky. There was room amongst them for many more birds- and indeed there were, of all shapes and sizes, flitting about like so many small dancers. Bugs joined in, all varieties, and other small animals darted through the brush underneath, which was ringed by flowers of pink and gold.

Today, the forest was alive.

Next to the temple was a small clearing, perfect for sitting and watching the sky under swaying branches of the watching trees. This was not the case, however, as the Pokemon girl had set up a campfire and was crouched next to it, checking a metal pot suspended above the blaze.

Glaceon stood silently for a bit, admiring the fire. It was well-made and well-placed, ensuring the safest campfire possible- she had obviously had a bit of survivalist training. He remembered those days. The girl looked up, brushing a few strands of raw emerald out of her face, noticed him, and gave a small smile and wave.

"Hey," she said, standing up and brushing herself off. She had taken off the heavier outer armor, and was outfitted in the lighter under layers that didn't inhibit movement. "Good morning!" She opened the pot, and a fresh gust of the delicious smell dissipated into the air. She sniffed the air approvingly. "Looks like it's done. At least, I think it is." She rummaged around in a few satchels next to her, emerging with a ladle and two bowls. "Do you want some?"

"Okay," was the simple answer she received.

Dipping the ladle into the pot, she splashed a bundle of noodles in slightly brown broth into the waiting bowl, and then did it once more for the other one. She added some sliced-up preserved meat and vegetables hastily, and handed a bowl to Glaceon along with a set of chopsticks. "This is thanks for saving me last night."

Glaceon looked at her, slightly confused. _She could've taken on those lowly village samurai easily; she's a Pokemon. What's holding her back? Does she not have an Emblem? No- I saw the wings._

He looked down at his bowl. In it was noodles, meat, vegetables… all swimming around like small creatures locked in a tide pool of broth. He looked up again. "Isn't this my meat? I swear I just bought this in the last town- it was supposed to last me for a few more days, at least."

She nodded. "Yup. I made your rice, too." She pulled out a metal canister from the embers of the fire, using a small matching rod that fit into it, and proceeded to open it, revealing cooked rice. She dumped half of it into her bowl and half into his while he sat looking perplexed.

The girl proceeded to slurp up the concoction from her bowl, hardly even using the chopsticks. Glaceon put a hand up. "Alright, I've got a few questions… but first tell me your name."

She stopped slurping. "Shinko." She continued slurping.

Glaceon rubbed his temple. "Yes, and mine's Yukine. But I meant your _name_." He enunciated it as much as he could, and pointed at his sword, which had a few spots of frost on it, like always.

Her eyes widened. "Oh, um, but we're not supposed to talk about that. That's what my lord always says."

"We can talk about it, if it's Pokemon to Pokemon," Glaceon, or Yukine, replied. "I'm Glaceon, an Ice-type. Pleased to meet you." He leaned down, attempting her strange souplike concoction.

"I'm called Flygon," said Flygon, shyly, as if she was telling her deepest secret. "I'm Dragon-type. Also Ground."

Glacceon nodded, sucking up an overcooked noodle. "I've never met a Dragon-type before," he stated.

Silence ensued, aside from slurping on both sides- as curious as he was about the Flygon's night chase, it was none of his business. So he had nothing else to talk about, save the fact that she had used up all of his food. He didn't find the silence awkward at all. She, however, did.

Finally, the Dragon-type tried for conversation, "Umm… Is it good?"

"It's… different," was Yukine's reply. "I've never had noodles like this before… or with rice in broth."

"Isn't it cool?" asked Shinko excitedly. "They're all the rage over where I'm from- newly invented! It's basically a block of hardened noodles that soften in boiled water. Then you add stuff." She opened her pack, revealing rows upon rows of blocked noodles, next to small bags of spices. "I had the cook back home package a bunch for me, because I can't cook!"

_That explains a lot._

She held the bowl to her mouth, draining out the last of the rice and broth in one last gulp. "It's pretty good, I think. The rice and meat made it taste even better!"

"Yeah," said Glaceon. "My rice and meat." He was almost done his bowl, too. "Although I would separate the noodles and rice next time, just saying."

"Hmm," said Shinko, putting a finger to her chin. "I guess so. This isn't very soup-like, is it? More like wet mushy stuff. It's supposed to be soup, though, I think."

Yukine grunted, standing up. "Well, thanks for the meal. I guess I'll get going then."

"Wait!" cried the Flygon, reaching out a hand. "Don't be so abrupt! We only just met!"

"Yeah," said Yukine. "And now I'm leaving." He turned to walk away, then swiveled on his foot, back to her. "After you pay me back, of course."

She blinked. "For what?"

"Using all my food."

"Oh. Oops."

He waited. She shifted on her spot on the ground. "Um," she started, changing the subject. "I have a… proposition for you."

Now it was his turn to blink. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you see," said the girl in green. "I'm being chased. I'm a samurai under Lord Noburou to the east, not of the Yami Clan, who rule these lands." She looked at Yukine, who hadn't moved, but remained expressionless. She continued. "My lord has far less land then the Yami Clan. He is a minor lord, while Lady Yami is a major one."

Yukine nodded. "One of the land's two most powerful leaders, the other being Lady Sonohara of the White Rose."

"Yes," continued Shinko. "They're often called the Black and White Queens, due to their Clan colors, and the fact that both of their kingdoms are easily bigger than anyone else's." She paused to clear her throat. "But, back to what I was saying. My lord has always been fearful that the Yami want his land to make their kingdom even bigger, but they've never made a move. Until now."

One of Yukine's eyebrows was now raised. He was interested. Shinko continued her tale. "Our villages are being heavily ransacked by a gang of organized bandits. Every night, somewhere else is hit. Survivors say the leader wields mystic powers. And every time our army catches the bandits, they flee over the border into Yami territory, where we can't follow. But here's the thing." She leaned forward conspiratorially, red-grey eyes narrowed. "No one has heard of any bandit attacks happening in the Yami's land."

"How do you know?"

"We've talked to all the merchants and other travelers who cross the border from Yami lands. No one has heard or seen anything. The funny thing is, an organized bandit gang like this one would benefit better in Yami territory. The Yamis are much richer than us, and their kingdom is incredibly expansive- meaning there are more tiny farming villages to attack that are out of the way. Also, our kingdom is much more compact than theirs' due to its small size- we can launch a counter-offensive relatively quickly. The Yamis are all spread out over a vast distance- it would be much easier to quickly ransack a village and disappear there than in our kingdom."

"So your theory is that the Yami are pretending to be bandits and attack your lands," the Glaceon stated. "Or have hired mercenaries or bandits to do it for them."

"Yep," responded Shinko. "That way they won't draw any attention to themselves from other powerful lords. If it looked like a tiny kingdom was having bandit problems, nobody would help. But if the Yamis are picking on a kingdom ten times smaller than theirs in order to invade, the Sonoharas or another powerful lord might come to our assistance. They don't want the Yamis stronger than they already are, plus it would make them look better if they go out of their way to help weak little kingdoms like ours."

"That's a pretty logical theory," mused the ronin. "And I assume that's why you're here in Yami lands?"

Shinko nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I came under cover of night! But the guy at the inn I stopped at must've seen my lord's symbol on me and ratted me out to the guards, because after like ten minutes of sleep they came and chased me right out the village!" She shook her head. "Outrageous. These Yamis have no sense of hospitality."

"I guess they follow their leader," said Yukine. "The Veiled Lady's never been a nice sort, at least in the stories."

"Oh, pssh," said Shinko, flapping her hand around as if the Veiled Lady was nothing more than a level one Caterpie. "Don't believe all those stories you here about her. It's all part of her routine- scare her subjects into submission, and scare her enemies. What a way to be a leader; hmph."

* * *

The Veiled Lady is the alias of Lady Yami. It's used more than her real name, Sayomi. To everyone, near and far, she's just referred to simply as "the Veiled Lady." She always wears a great flowing grey cloak, and a massive veil over her face, so no skin is ever showing. They say she takes it off in her private quarters at night, but nobody's ever seen her true face. She hardly talks, either, or so they say- choosing instead to speak through her ever-present steward.

There are all sorts of rumors about why the Lady is Veiled. The most common is that she's incredibly beautiful, the most beautiful woman alive perhaps, but will not reveal her beauty until she meets a man that loves her first for her inner beauty or some such. But there's plenty of other tales that are much darker.

Some say she's a hideous old witch, who hides her face because she's so awful-looking. Others say she's a corpse, an unliving queen that will stay to rule her people throughout eternity. Still others believe she's not human in the first place; instead, some kind of monster or demon.

Whatever she is, her ploy works. She cloaks herself in mystery and lets the legends spread, hardly needing any provocation. Everyone's afraid of the unknown, and when a powerful Lady makes herself the unknown, everyone fears her.

It doesn't help that she built her castle, the Black Castle, on a massive cliff overlooking the sea- not even in her kingdom's capitol city.

The Yami Clan is the most powerful in the country, aside from the Sonohara Clan- ruled by Sorai and Tai, the twin Sonahara leaders- who are about equal in power. They are peaceable monarchs whose domain includes much farmland, unlike the Yami's dense forests and mountains. The Sonoharas are also renowned for their kindness- helping out the many minor kingdoms, although their army always remained the largest in the land.

There are six other major kingdoms (though all still significantly smaller than the Yami's and Sonohara's), and a plethora of minor ones like Lord Noborou's. Yukine knew little about Shinko's lord- his reputation was like an insect's shadow when compared to the Yami's or Sonohara's giant ones. That's why he must have sent Shinko into the Yami's territory, to get real proof, because a tiny noble like him wouldn't have been able to have any say in anything unless he had solid evidence to back up his accusation. But, as was revealed by Shinko's midnight chase, the Yamis had apparently beefed up the border guard, on the lookout for anyone bearing Noborou's crest.

* * *

"This is all very interesting, but what does it have to do with a ronin like me?" asked Yukine. "Or the food you owe me?"

"Well, how do you make money?" Shinko countered his question with one of her own. "I assume you act as a samurai-for-hire or something along those lines, right?"

Yukine nodded. "I occasionally take on bodyguard duties, or bounties, yes."

"Well, here's my proposition for you," she said. "I hire you as a bodyguard while I travel through Yami territory, and you get paid for it! With someone as strong as you by my side, I could accomplish my mission quite quickly and easily. We'll determine the price back in my own kingdom's court."

"Hmm," Yukine held his chin. "I could definitely use some money- I'm almost out. But I have three conditions."

"Well, let me hear them!"

Yukine held up a finger. "One: don't talk as much. Two: all the food we eat while I'm in your company is bought by you." Now two fingers were up. He lifted a third one. "And, three: I get paid back for the food you owe me, separately."

"Uuu…" Shinko thought for a few seconds. "I guess that's reasonable…"

"If you don't accept, I'll just be on my way," said Yukine. He turned to leave, then looked back. "After you pay me of course."

"Gah! Fine! I'll do it!" the younger samurai said. "Just don't leave." Yukine raised an eyebrow but only said, "We should get going soon, too. We're wasting daylight, and those samurai chasing you will probably come back."

* * *

After gathering up the breakfast things and disposing of the fire, the two samurai went back into the small temple to collect their other belongings. Yukine realized he'd left his food pack out next to Arceus when he was having a late-night snack the other night, which is how Shinko had found it. He stuffed his few meager possessions into his satchel and met up with Shinko at the doorway to the road, now in full samurai armor again.

"You're going to have to take that off- you look really conspicuous running around with full armor in with your lord's symbols emblazoned over everything," advised Yukine.

"Oh!" his new traveling companion looked down in sudden realization. "You're right!"

She pulled off the big pieces holding her lord's emblem; tongue out in concentration as she unclipped a strap. She crammed the armor parts into her backpack, forcefully stuffing them in on top of her other things. Now she just looked like a minor noble or merchant-class girl, holding a naginata. "Some of my things were on my horse," she said sadly. "But, thankfully, most of them were on my back."

After saying their last goodbyes to Arceus, the duo walked around to the temple to the other side (where they hadn't had breakfast), and were glad to see the two horses of the samurai from last night remained. Kenichi and Ryuunosuke had been so afraid that they'd ran straight down the road, not staying anywhere close to the icy swordsman. It took too long to get a horse ready for travel- and now, here they were, one for Yukine and one for Shinko.

Silently, Yukine prepared the horse for riding. He stripped it of everything marking it as a Yami horse, and Shinko did the same to her's. It was a good military horse- it had remained here after its master had left, because that was the last command it had received. The horse looked happy that it had stopped running after Shinko's horse the night before and was able to get some sleep.

Shinko talked to her horse, and stroked its ears. As she swung onto the saddle, she pouted, saying, "I hope my horse is okay… he's a good horse."

"I'm sure he is," said Yukine, swinging up onto his horse as well. "The samurai chasing you had no need for a riderless horse. He's either being put to good use or on his way home right now."

"Oh, I hope he is," said Shinko wistfully. "He's a great horse, my Razor. The very best. Let me tell you about the time-"

Yukine held up a hand, eyes closed. "Please, keep the conversation to a minimum."

So, wordlessly, they rode on until a village came into view, on two horses that didn't belong to them- the ronin with a blade of ice and the samurai girl who couldn't cook.

* * *

**Gah nothing happened this chapter. Well, I got a little world-building in, and Shinko and Yukine's names- plus why they're teaming up in the first place. Don't worry- I promise next chapter, once they arrive at the village, they'll meet a few OCs. There's also a fight scene. So it won't suck like this chapter.**

**As for OCs, I've gotten a lot, and have decided not to accept any more except for minor characters. What I mean is: if you have a good idea of how a certain Pokemon could work in a cool way as a samurai, PM me! As shown in this chapter, there are many lords, and each lord needs samurai. So I need minor lords, samurai, and maybe a bandit or two! If you still want to try submitting a (not-minor) character, I'll probably turn you down (sorry!) but you can still try I guess.**

**In a random side note: it's fun to write Pokemon Gijinka SYOCs! I hope someone starts a new one- after the writing I've been doing, I want to submit an OC too!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yes, this story still exists. Sorry for the uber-long wait. Lots of stuff just got in the way, like a spontaneous anime con and a class that takes up all of my Saturdays. Said class lasts for the rest of the month so don't expect a new update for a couple more weeks... sorry about that... Anyway, onto the long-awaited third chapter! :3**

* * *

First came the farmers' houses. Small huts away from the main town area, but close to their fields. The farmers had already begun their backbreaking work far earlier in the day, and kept at it. They could be seen interspersed between the fields- which formed a patchwork quilt of greens, blues, and yellows against a clear blue sky.

This showed that the two riders were nearing a village. The houses became more clustered, and the people more plentiful, until the duo reached the main town area proper.

"Ah, good, we're here!" Shinko said, stretching her arms upwards towards the mid-morning sun. Riding on a horse for a while always made her want to stretch. The green-haired girl turned to her traveling partner. "Where is here, exactly?"

"Some random Yami village," Yukine answered, monotone. "It probably has a name. I just don't know it."

Shinko nodded. "Makes sense." She looked around. "So what's the plan?"

"I don't know," was the answer she received. "It was you who hired me, not the other way around."

"Mmm," she murmured in agreement, finger on her chin, thinking. "I guess we should just ask around for news of bandits in the area." Her eyes narrowed like she knew a secret and wasn't telling. "Inconspicuously." She turned to Yukine, once again wide-eyed and smiling. "Right!?"

He simply nodded, and directed his horse down a shabbier-looking road than the one they were already on. "Hey, where are you going?" she called out behind him.

"Inconspicuous, remember?" Yukine glanced back at her. She pouted as the nicer buildings turned into shacks the farther away they went. The upper-class samurai and merchants were quickly replaced by people in rough sackcloth clothing, who walked around the horses, carrying boxes of food and other products to bring to the market. Shinko let out a shrill gasp when a small animal darted straight under her horse, followed by a grinning child missing his two front teeth.

Finally they arrived at a ratty-looking inn. The wood was rotting in some places and the building itself looked like it had been squashed by the two buildings on either side. The overhanging roofs formed a small, dank passageway to the stables in back. Yukine, impassive as always, dismounted his steed and led it (somewhat unwillingly) into the stables. "This'll do. Discreet, right?"

Shinko did the same, though showed much more disgust than her companion as she glared at every little cobweb or wood stain. "This is pretty gross," she whined. "I saw a much much nicer inn back on one of the main streets. It wasn't too conspicuous; it would have been just fine! This is too much- I've never seen such squalor."

Yukine rolled his eyes a tiny bit and sighed a small sigh. "I chose this inn for two reasons. One: it is inconspicuous, yes, as I said before. But reason number two is more important: people to an inn that is THIS inconspicuous all have something to hide."

"Oh," said Shinko, thinking. "So as long as we don't pry at anyone else, they'll leave us alone, and we won't have to worry about people finding out I'm a samurai from Noborou's kingdom?"

"Exactly. Plus you could probably find much more information here about things that go on the bandit underworld than in some ritzy merchant inn."

"Yeah, but still…" She made a face as she just avoided stepping in a foul-smelling puddle of unidentifiable substance before tying her horse into a stall. The stall's hay didn't look edible, even to a horse, and no one had bothered to clean the stall of its former residents' excrement. The horse was not amused. Both of the former Yami army horses looked very out of place in these stables, where their only companion was a scrawny, older, one-eyed horse who still could hold a very intimidating glare. "Why do we have to be in such a repulsive place?"

Yukine was done tying in his horse, with a half-rotten rope. "This is what the world looks like, out here." He turned to her, eyes narrowed questioningly. "You've never left your lord's city, have you?"

"Yes!" She said quickly, but the slight blush and how her eyes were suddenly drawn to her shuffling feet proved otherwise. "Of course. To, uh, outlying farms."

The ronin grunted in response, and motioned for her to follow him through a side door into the actual inn. He wasn't going to pry- it wasn't his business.

Shinko silently thanked him for that, and followed.

"Stop." He wasn't looking at her- he just held out a hand behind himself in the universal sign.

"What?" she asked, flustered.

"Act tough. We're going into a sleazy inn. There's almost certainly going to be some bad people in there- don't let them see you as a cute, vulnerable girl; show them a cold, strong samurai so they'll leave you alone. The naginata helps."

"Oh!' she said. "O-okay…" she sucked in a breath and let it out, composing herself. Yukine's hand changed from a "stop" sign into a "come on, let's go" gesture.

Then she realized he had referred to her as "cute." Her face turned a shade of pink, but she soon regained her "tough samurai" disposition. Yukine realized it too, and the pale, emotionless face also turned a slight scarlet hue for a few seconds, though hidden from her.

The door creaked open. Suddenly all eyes were on them- the squinting owner of the inn who was sitting behind the bar, the scared-looking girl who was in charge of cleaning and serving, big hulking thugs, women in too-revealing kimonos, ronin of all sorts- the meaner ones and the ones that still retained their honor, cowled figures who sat in the shadows. Yukine kept his hand on the handle of his sword almost casually. Shinko gulped but retained her tough disposition.

For what seemed like eternity (but was only two seconds), the countless eyes returned to what they were each originally looking at. Yukine led the way to the bar counter. Shinko followed, making an effort to glare at everyone and everything. It wasn't hard. They were all pretty disgusting. She received a few glares in return.

They reached the counter. The squinty-eyed barkeep looked them both over, then did a little shrug-nod. "Yeah, what can I do for yeh?"

"We're planning on spending the night," Yukine said. "We've already put our horses out back."

"Eh, okay," said the owner, rubbing a sake cup with a rag. "So I'll have to have one room ready tonight, yeah? That'll be twelve o' your little coins there."

For the second time that day, the emotionless ronin turned from white-and-blue ice to an embarrassed red. "Er, no, uh, two. Two rooms. Please. Um, next to each other, if possible." He rubbed the back of his neck.

Shinko giggled, as did any nearby patrons who overheard the conversation. The owner guffawed loudly, jiggling his beer belly and beard. Squinting even more than before from laughter, he said, "Yeah, yeah, I gotcha. Sure thing. That's double the price of one, of though." Yukine gave Shinko a look, and she paid for it, as per their agreement. It was probably cheaper than that other inn, anyway.

"You guys want any food or somethin', or is this transaction over?" asked the bearded man behind the counter impatiently.

"No, I think we're done," said Shinko. They signed their names on a paper the innkeeper provided, and received their room keys. Shinko pulled on Yukine's arm, who flinched reflexively. "Alright, come on, let's go get ourselves some information!"

* * *

All day they asked people. Discreetly, of course, so as not to attract the attention of any Yami soldiers in on the scheme. They started at the ratty inn, where they found a few former bandits, as well as a few bounty hunters who had hunted down bandits before, but no one had heard anything about a large band of them in the area.

They asked some farmers outside the village- they would be the most likely targets of bandit attacks, if there were any. The farmers assured them that there had been no bandit activity in the region for years. Apparently the Yami army was good at their job- the villagers were happy to tell Shinko and Yukine all about the peace and prosperity they'd been experiencing.

They tried the market district, which was relatively large. The small village had apparently become a hub for merchants due to the fertility of its' soil, and had grown quickly in a short amount of time. That explained how the town had elements of both a large town and a rural farming village integrated in it, but did not offer anything as to what the duo were looking for.

They asked travelers, street vendors, the priest a the temple, a troupe of traveling performers- no luck. Well, Shinko did most of the asking. Yukine just kind of stood around.

Soon it was getting dark. Lanterns, candles, and torches began to appear around town. "I guess we should get some late dinner and turn in for the night," said Shinko, sounding tired.

"Mmm," murmured Yukine in agreement.

Shinko turned around and pointed her finger right at his face. "But we're going to the nice inn I saw earlier. I don't trust the food at the one we're staying at. I'm paying for it anyway, so I get to decide."

"Sure, sure," said Yukine, holding up his hands. "You're the boss."

"Yes," she said. "I am." She removed the pointing finger, swiveled around, and strode towards the inn with a little bit of swagger.

Yukine ran his hands through his spiked back hair before following, sighing and thinking about their day. At first, Shinko had no idea what she was doing, so Yukine had to take charge of the tasks such as choosing an inn. She listened to his advice. Soon she began to grow in her role as the employer and thus the one in charge, when they began to look for information because it involved one of her best skills- talking. Now it had gotten to her head a bit. Not that Yukine minded. He was glad she had started to grow into her role- he didn't like to order employers around. He would much rather just silently take orders, just like when he worked under his lord.

They had only had some quick street-vendor takoyaki for lunch, so both of them were starving. Shinko waited patiently until Yukine arrived a few steps behind her, and the two of them pushed open the "door" (a big fabric curtain that had stitched into it the name of the inn and the services it offered), walking inside.

Everything was different. It was as if the owners of this inn had taken every single aspect of the inn Shinko and Yukine had been to before, and flipped it on its head. The atmosphere was calm. Quiet conversation permeated the air. Nothing was dirty- everyone in attendance had taken their sandals off at the front door (the inn even provided little cubbyholes for them) and Yukine and Shinko did the same.

Whereas the first inn was organized like a tavern on its' first level (with rooms on the second), this building's first floor resembled a restaurant, complete with appetizing aromas wafting out of the kitchen.

The patrons were of an altogether different sort, and none of them even bothered to stare at the newcomners. Some working samurai sat in one corner, drinking sake (but not too much, unlike the people at the other inn). A group of women in fine kimonos sat around a table, gossiping- probably a group of friends who were the wives of upper-class merchants and samurai. Other types of people sat around the area, such as merchants and well-off ronin. But one person stood out in particular.

He was a ronin, in samurai armor of black and green with an overcoat on top, about the same age as Yukine. He was sitting at a small table towards the back of the inn's dining area, with a normal meal in front of him, looking relaxed and content. Shinko wouldn't have even noticed him- he stood out no more than any of the other ronin. Except that as soon as Yukine had seen him, their eyes had locked. Yukine's winter blue ones stared straight into the other ronin's grayish hazel ones, which had lost all sense of contentment. Both of their faces were completely unreadable, but energy seemed to flicker between them like some sort of electrical reaction. Yukine's hand inched for his blade, and the other ronin looked ready to leap for the wrapped object behind him- tall and thin; most likely a spear.

A few seconds later, both men smiled slightly and nodded at each other. Neither had said a word, but somehow had formed an unspoken agreement. The invisible energy dissipated and the tension was gone. The black-haired ronin in the corner went back to his meal and Yukine turned to Shinko, who was looking at him questioningly.

"You know him?"

"An old acquaintance," was all he would say.

Shinko wisely picked a table towards the edge of the room, away from any curious eyes. Yukine smiled slightly as she did so. So she actually was learning, he thought.

Shinko paid for the meal just as the agreement had stated, so Yukine let her pick the cuisine. A friendly girl was soon over to ask them what they wanted. She didn't look scared of her own shadow like the one from the other inn; in fact she cheerfully helped Shinko order, listing her opinions on the different dishes and chatting about this and that. The green-haired samurai girl eventually decided on a rice dish that was the special of the day. "I'm tired of noodles," she said. She also ordered water for both of them. "Sake's gross," she said.

"Have you ever had sake?"

"Uh… no. Does it matter?"

Soon the smiling girl returned, bringing plates of steaming food with her. Her ponytail bobbed behind her as she walked with a skip in her step, skillfully dodging tables and customers, and setting down some delicious-smelling dishes in front of Shinko and Yukine. "Enjoy!"

"Ah, thanks!" cried Shinko in delight. The waitress nodded and skipped off to serve more tables. Shinko and Yukine clapped their hands together, bowed slightly and said "I humbly receive" in unison, before digging in.

"So," said Shinko between mouthfuls (after her initial exclamation of "OHMYARCEUS SO GOOD!"). "What do you think we should do tomorrow? I guess we should move on to the next town and ask around there?"

"Sure," said Yukine, stopping between bites.

"But, I mean, the more we move, the farther we get from the border the bandits cross over on," said Shinko, brow furrowed. "Theoretically, their base of operations should be somewhere in this region as it's close to the border."

"Well," said her travelling companion. "What we learned also supports your theory. There's a large group of brigands that you from Noborou's kingdom know exist, and are somewhere around here, yet no one, not even travelers, has heard of them- they're specifically preying upon your kingdom and that's all."

"Hmm, you're right." Shinko prodded the side of her face with the back of her chopstick absentmindedly as she thought for a while before saying, "Eh, I guess we'll sleep on it."

* * *

The rest of the evening passed uneventfully. Shinko made small talk about the Yami, town life in the village, and other random topics. Yukine mainly responded with one-word answers and let her do all the talking.

Before they knew it, the meal was over, and they were walking out of the inn, with Shinko vigorously thanking their hosts and Yukine just nodding in agreement. The black-and-green ronin had retired at one point to a room in the inn sometime during the duration of the meal.

Yawning, the two slowly trudged back to their inn. They hadn't realized just how late it was, or just how tired they were from walking around town all day. "Let's get a good night's sleep," Shinko said, stretching.

The closer they got to the seedier part of town, the less lights there were. Where they had eaten dinner, lanterns lined the streets like so many big fireflies, lending the streets a magical quality. People leisurely walked the streets, finishing up some last minute business or on a late-night date. Where Yukine and Shinko were, in the back streets, which were much tighter and more constrained, very few lights dotted the darkness. Anyone else on the paths shuffled quickly ahead and soon disappeared into the encroaching blackness.

"Tch," said Shinko in frustration, fiddling nervously with one of her braids. "We shouldn't have stayed out this late." Unconsciously they found themselves walking closer and closer to each other.

At last they saw the inn. Cheap lanterns were lit on either side of the old wooden door, framing it in flickering light. What had seemed like the gates to some pit of slime and death earlier that day now seemed to be the welcoming doors of salvation.

They quickened their pace once it came into view.

Suddenly, running feet sounded from behind. They hardly noticed until the owner of those feet collided with Yukine. The blue-haired ronin was sent reeling.

The offender had dashed straight through the ever-shrinking gap between Shinko and Yukine's bodies, but Yukine had taken the brunt of the assault- a full shoulder at least. Shinko had been hit by the fast-running figure too, though not nearly as hard. "Hey!" she called out angrily after them, cupping her hands around her mouth in a makeshift megaphone. "Watch it!"

The collision had affected the runner as well, as in front of the duo the figure stumbled. It waved a hand back at them. "Sorry!" a male voice came out from inside the hood as he righted himself, than dashed off again, vanishing into the darkness before Shinko could say anything more.

Neither Shinko nor Yukine had seen the man's face due to the hood, but he was wearing two defining features that they had taken note of in the light before he had run off again- two earlike appendages sewn on to the hood, and a unique sword that sat on the back of his belt. It was jagged and resembled a lightning bolt, and neither of them had seen its ilk before.

"Hmph! Some people, I swear!" Shinko huffed, reaching down to help the dazed Yukine up. He rubbed his head and grimaced.

"Huh? What's this?" asked Shinko. Yukine had been holding a slip of parchment in his hand, which fell out after Shinko helped him up with it. "Did that jerk give it to you?"

"I… I don't know." Yukine was at a loss. Curiously, they unfolded the roll of paper. Written on it in quickly scrawled text were the words, "I heard about you asking questions. I know about the bandits. Meet me at midnight by the town gates."

The soft light on the lanterns was just enough to read by, and now it shone on Shinko and Yukine's faces as they both looked up and locked eyes excitedly.

"Finally," she breathed, wide-eyed with enthusiasm and anticipation.

* * *

**Aaand that's it. I'm sorry I just write too much- I didn't even get to the fight scene or the OCs getting introduced (although two were in this chapter and their creators will probably recognize them via their descripitons). But next chapter both of those things will definitely happen. Until then!**


End file.
